Women's soccer heads to Kennesaw State and Mercer for a pair of pivotal league matches this weekend

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Brinkman

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (October 16, 2008) - After going unbeaten in both of its Atlantic Sun Conference matches last week, the ETSU women's soccer team resumes A-Sun action with a pair of league contest this weekend. The Bucs will take on two-time defending league champion KennesawState with a 7:00 p.m., contest Friday, followed by a 2:00 p.m, Sunday match against league leading Mercer.

The Bucs (5-6-1, A-Sun 3-2-1) have had strong performances in its last three A-Sun contests, defeating Belmont and USC Upstate, before battling Campbell to a scoreless tie last Saturday. Overall, ETSU sits in second-place among league teams with 10 points, three points behind Mercer.

Individually, sophomore midfielder Kelly Brinkman (Clearwater, Fla.) and freshman goalkeeper Megan Masch (Virginia Beach, Va.) have been red hot as of late. Brinkman posted both goals, in the Bucs 2-1 win at Upstate, while Masch has allowed only one goal in her last 300:00 minutes of play.

KennesawState (8-7-4, A-Sun 2-2-2) welcomes the Bucs, after splitting on the road to Belmont and Lipscomb last weekend. The overwhelming preseason favorite Owls are led by senior forward Rachel Baer. Baer currently sits second among league members in points (20) and is averaging 13 shots per contest.

Mercer (7-4-3, A-Sun 4-1-1) sits atop the league standings, winning three of its last four contests. After sweeping both Lipscomb and Belmont, Mercer welcomes ETSU to Bear Field boasting one of the top defenses in the nation. After not allowing a goal last weekend, Mercer and goalkeeper Jean Worts now ranks 15th in the nation in total defense, allowing an incredible 0.548 goals against average on the season.

ETSU trails KennesawState all-time with a 1-3-0 record, while the Bucs and Bears have posted a tie and one win a piece. Last season ETSU and the Owls split both contests, as the Bucs dropped KSU 3-1in the regular season, before Kennesaw bounced back with 2-0 win in the A-Sun tournament semifinals. ETSU dropped its only match to Mercer last season 1-0.